Naples, Sorrento, Amalfi Coast help

lynnie,

It's late so I just have a few comments at the moment.....

You might consider using Sorrento has your home base, as it has a good selection of hotels, some good restaurants and also rail transportation. You can easily get from NAP to Sorrento when you arrive using the Curreri Viaggi coach (€10 PP when I last checked, about an hour) and again when you leave.

From Sorrento it's easy to day trip to.....

• Naples (Circumvesuviana if you're adventurous or Campania Express if you're not)
• Pompeii or Ercolano (Circumvesuviana)
• Positano (Bus, Taxi or private driver)
• Capri (boat from Sorrento - easy to do as a day trip)

I'll leave the question on driving to Roberto or one of the others. I suspect the traffic in June could be "busy" and probably stressful. I'm not sure what the parking options are like in Positano? Also, keep in mind that each driver listed on the rental form will require the compulsory International Driver's Permit, which is used in conjunction with your home D.L. You'll also have to be vigilant to avoid the dreaded ZTL (limited traffic) areas, as hefty fines will result for each pass through one!

With only about five nights, Sicily as well as the Amalfi Coast is out of the question.

Just a note on a home base on the Amalfi Coast. Praiano is a great spot. It is quiet, close to 2 beaches and is a great home base to travel to Amalfi, Positano, Ravello, etc. We stayed at Hotel Margherita twice in Praiano. You will not be disappointed

In Praiano you will find many locals to chat with. We would sit in the church square in the evening watching the children play and talk to locals. We had a private transfer from the Naples train station to the hotel for something like 100 Euro. I would not drive on the Amalfi coast, the buses are great. At Hotel Margherita they rent a 2 seater car at daily rates if you want to venture to the small towns higher up that are harder to get to by bus. You can take the boat to Capri from Praiano also

Nocelle will be a lot of driving. We took the bus from there and it was a long way down. If you want to see Nocelle take the Path of the Gods from Bomerano to Nocelle, visit the little town and take the bus down. That hike was fantastic and not very difficult.

Before you choose to drive, please read my thread on driving the Amalfi Coast. Keep in mind that I was there in February when there was very little local traffic and almost no tourist traffic.

If you want to rent a car, Salerno is a good base. The Amalfi Coast is best by bus and ferry, but you could explore some of the places around Salerno that are frequented more by locals and not so swamped with tourists. And there's Paestum.

I don't think a car will give you any advantage this time of year and I love driving along the coast, but April, early May, late September, and October . It's a narrow two lane road and you simply can't go any faster than the busses in front of you. Then you have to consider the hassle and cost of parking.

Ken mentioned Sorrento. To add, there are some great trails, none difficult, connecting the towns in this area. Map.

http://www.giovis.com/NPTmap.htm You should be able to pick these up in town from the information center.

Coach mentioned Praiano.
Much more layed back with short bus rides to both Amalfi and Positano.

Nocelle, while beautiful, and with easy access to the Path of the Gods, with what you want to see, I my opinion would have you in constant transportation mode.

Which ever you decide, have a great trip.

I am so excited to get your responses. This is my first real foray into Rick Steve's forums. Thank you! I will write more later tonight. We had been considering Sicily or adding a day in Capri. Can you tell me how to get hold of Roberto too?

I highly recommend staying in Sorrento! It is beautiful, fun, and so well-connected to all of the Amalfi Coast.

I would suggest spending a day taking the bus ride up the Amalfi Coast (making time to stop and explore Positano), a day trip to Capri, and a day of Naples/Pompeii.

Leave the rest of your days unscheduled and just enjoy Sorrento!

And do NOT drive.

Capri, Capri, Capri.......been there multiple times. Staying there 4 nights this May. Take a Bus or Taxi to the most elevated town of Anacapri. From there take the CHAIR LIFT to the top of Mt. Solaro. Insane view over the whole Med. or the Blue Grotto. Go online and look this stuff up!!
Sorrento is one of my favs and the Amalfi Coast is to die. Spending two weeks there this May. Amalfi gets busy so be aware. Be cautious in Napoli.

Ciao

We had been considering Sicily or adding a day in Capri. Can you tell
me how to get hold of Roberto too?

Lynnie, with just your current 4.5 days you don't have time for Sicily unless you can add considerably more days. Most of the knowledgable forum posters for that one recommend at least a week and even then only a piece of it can be covered: 2 to 3 weeks are best.

I'll go along with the others recommending Sorrento or Salerno to have easy access to public transport (boats, bus and trains). I personally wouldn't want to deal with a car for this region during high season.

Capri is an easy day trip by boat but it will also be very busy. Here's a recent post by another member looking to do that as a day trip (from Positano but possible from Sorrento, Salerno + other points) that you can cross-reference for responses/info.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/boat-trip-from-positano-to-capri

Roberto is one of the star RS forum gurus for all things Italian and should be along once he sees your post. :O)

Or you can search Roberto da Firenze and send him a Private Message.

I private messaged both Roberto and Gerri and didn't hear back from them that way. Does anyone have any ideas of why?

lynnie,

Roberto provided a reply in your other thread. If hasn't replied yet, I'm sure there's a reason for that. Give it time.

as others have mentioned sorrento is the perfect base, why, because it has very good transport links. while many of the other towns might sound 'wonderful' if you want to look around you could have limited transport options. eg: the ferry may not be working. definitely use sorrento and radiate out to the many attractions and include capri/anacapri.
are you talking this coming june? have you checked out accomodation yet?

Thank you Glenn... Yes we are coming this June. We working on accommodations and have booked one in Sorrento (which is cancelable) .... my partner who is arriving earlier than me is staying in a b&b in Positano that looks marvelous. We might see if we could stay there some too.
I am worried that Sorrento will be a bit too sanitized.. but this place looks great... we do have a courtyard view.. Palazzo Marziale.
What do you think? Lynnie

Sorrento was not too "sanitized" for us but that's personal opinion. It was well worth basing there to have multiple, easily- accessible transport options around the region.

I private messaged both Roberto and Gerri and didn't hear back from
them that way. Does anyone have any ideas of why?

Probably because it's a weekend and both of them may have other things to do than watch the site. I'm sure they'll respond when they have time!